‘Landon Donovan is a weirdo’… Icon slammed for intentionally ‘Destroying a player’s career’

Landon Donovan has received huge backlash after telling a bizarre story.

The American, considered to be one of the greatest footballers to have ever come out of the US, went out of his way to ruin someone else’s career.

Landon Donovan purposely antagonised one of his players

After his time on the pitch came to an end, Landon Donovan transitioned into management, taking on the reins at San Diego Loyal.

While blessed with a fantastic footballing IQ, he certainly wasn’t quite as gifted in the compassion department, with the superstar picking on one of his players just to make a point.

In an interview on How Leaders Lead with David Novak, he explained: “When I was coaching here in San Diego, things were going a little too well with our team.

“We were playing well, things were going well, but you could see complacency starting to creep into the group.

“But when you’re doing well, you can’t just all of a sudden just blow them up and rip them apart in a locker room when you win 3-0, right?

“So, someone I really admire as a leader was Nate Miller, who was our assistant coach at the time and became the head coach and has gone on to great things.

“And he would always say the same thing, like, ‘We need to create some sort of conflict. Like, we need to find some conflict. We need something now to get these guys’ attention’.

“And we got a great gift. One of our best players was playing out of position, and he wasn’t happy about it. But the team was doing well, and we were winning.

“And so I would say to him, ‘Hey, I know you’re frustrated by this, but we’re winning and we’re doing well’.

“So, we had a training session, and we watched it back after, and the team this player was on allowed a goal, and he just walked back and wasn’t defending.

“And so I was like, ‘Perfect’. We have a moment where we can go after one of our best players in front of the team and say, ‘This is unacceptable’.

“So, we’re showing the video, and I call him out in the video, and I say, ‘Hey, I don’t care if you’re playing goalie or right back or striker or whatever. If you defend like this, we’re never going to get where we want to get to. So you can be mad about you not playing your best position or whatever, but it doesn’t matter where you play if you defend like this’.

“And it got a little intense, but he gave us a great gift because he reacted very negatively in front of the group and came after me a little bit.

“But I was prepared for it. So, I was able then to go back at him. And after the meeting, he walked up, and this was the best part, and he said, ‘Hey, I don’t think this is the right place for me. I want to get traded’.

And I said, ‘Okay, well, we’ll try to trade you, but if that can’t happen, we’re willing also to just cut you, and you can go find a new team too’.

“And he’s like, ‘Fine, I’m done’.

“So I went to my owner. In the second division in American soccer, they’re not making huge money, but it might have been like a $50,000 deal to cut his contract.

“And I said to my owner, ‘Are we willing to eat this money? It will help the group immensely because he’s been a negative impact for a little while here. I know he’s a good player, but he’s hurting our culture’.

“And the owner said, ‘Do it. If you need to do it, do it’. So I went back to him, and I said, ‘Okay, we’re done. We’re going to cut your contract, and you can go on your way’. And he said, ‘Fine’.

“He came back the next morning, and he said, ‘I thought about it, and I really think I made a mistake. I really want to be here’. And I said, ‘Look, I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen. We already made the decision’.

“And that decision and what it did for the group was massive because if you’re willing to cut one of your best players because they’re not doing what they should be doing, the rest of the group pays attention, right?

“It was the best gift we could have gotten.”

Fans react to Landon Donovan ruining a San Diego Loyal player’s career

While Donovan seems to think his anecdote showcases his managerial genius, the fans disagree, with many taking to social media to voice their concerns.

One said: “Landon Donovan is a weirdo,” while another added: “This is so strange from Landon. He sounds like he thinks he’s so smart for causing problems in his team for no reason. Very weird behaviour.”

A third posted: “This is ridiculous. He created conflict, destroyed a player’s career, and then bragged about it.” A fourth raged: “That is not normal behaviour. What is wrong with him?”

Featured Image Credit: Getty